Rah Rah ... Rah!!!!

Go  --- Fight --- Win!!

Yes, there is a cheerleader in the house!

 

Look -- someone is watching from the top of the stairs!

 

 

Maddy has been taking a cheer class in the evenings since school started last September.

She has really enjoyed it. 

And believe me -- they don't just cheer, do jumps and

throw around the pom poms. 

 

 

 

The instructors really give the girls a workout.

  It has helped Maddy become more flexible. 

 In addition to a cartwheel,

she can do the splits,

 a flip-over and

 a back walk-over.

 

 

 

Her dance studio held a mini-recital recently. 

 It was really fun to see the different performances. 

And really, the mini-recital seemed like quite a bit of work to me --

I can't image all that is involved in the "big" recitals

that are held in even-numbered years!

 

We realized a while back that Maddy's fingers are double-jointed,

but also noticed in cheer that her arms are too. 

It is really a little difficult for her to hold them totally straight

and do you know how important straight lines and arms are to cheerleaders???

Let me tell you -- very important!

Guess what --

her toes are also double-jointed!

Do you see how her arms are not straight due to the double-jointedness?

 

Cheer classes take a break in the summer --

up next --

Hip Hop and Jazzzz!!

Mother's Day 2013

I love Mother's Day and the little surprises,
but I must admit the celebration is rather bittersweet since
I lost my own sweet Mother a little over two years ago.
I will always miss calling her every day and chatting.
  You know, no one is as interested or delighted
to hear about my kids as my Mom.  

Connor and Maddy -- Mother's Day 2013

I know my Mom would want me to feel special and loved on Mother's Day
 (every day for that matter) and I certainly did and could feel her
warm smile and embrace from afar!

First on the agenda -- breakfast at Paner*a. 
I have been wanting to try one of their souffles for months now,
so we planned to meet Connor there for Mother's Day breakfast.
Evidently, every other mother in town had the same idea
as there were no souffles left when we arrived! :(
Boo hoo - but, we still had a lovely little breakfast together.

And then we drove thru Starbucks for cake-pops!
Yum!

The rest of the day I ignored the laundry, the grocery list and
put off mowing the lawn for another day.
I may have even taken a little nap!

It was a sweet lovely day!
We missed Philip and Catherine and the littles,
but plan to see them soon.
Maddy wrote me the sweetest poem!
I love my little family and they made my day so special.

Some older photos -- but always favorites!


Philip, Connor, Mr. Tennis
Catherine and me

 

Maddy and Me -- 2008

 

 

 

 

Happy 3rd Birthday!

"Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our life whole"

Happy 3rd Birthday to our most

adorable, sweet little Scottie --

Miss Muffy!!

Muffy and her brothers and sisters at a young age!! 
We think Muffy is on the far left.

She is one of the smartest, most well-behaved dogs ever!

 

Her life's goal is to catch a squirrel!

And believe me -- she tries to catch one every time we go for a walk!

Maddy holding Muffy and Muffy's parents, Wallace and Logan, watching!

Maddy is a teensy bit jealous that Muffy gets

to lollygag at home and nap at leisure when she (Maddy)

has to go school!!!

 

Aren't Scotties the cutest dogs ever??

 

Muffy's doggy best friend lives right across the street from us -

an incredibly sweet, always-smiling Corgi named Dixie!

 

I think they are planning a sleepover --
 at Dixie's house- I hope! :)
 

 

Enjoy your day Muffy with extra walks and extra treats
today and every day!
 

A Special Occasion

A really special occasion means

sleeping with sponge rollers!

 

The "morning after" the sponge rollers!

Maddy made her confirmation last month.  It was such a special occasion. 

 All of the 5th graders worked so hard throughout the year
preparing for the sacrament of Confirmation. 

 Maddy's chosen saint was Saint Elizabeth Seton -- the patron saint of Catholic education. 

 My confirmation saint was also Saint Elizabeth.

Philip and Maddy

Her big brother, Philip, was her sponsor.

  Philip and Catherine came from Omaha to attend her confirmation

 and Connor was also a part of the festivities. 

We had a small gathering at our house afterwards as

 confirmation was on a school night. 

We are so blessed to have such a sweet and loving family.

So, this is May?

On the last day of April,

a warm 80-degree day mind you,

Maddy and I put together her May Day bags

for neighbors and friends.

 

 

 

We were a little bummed that it was raining cats and dogs

yesterday after school
and the temp had dropped by 40+ degrees,

but she still ran to the neighbors and got those deliveries accomplished.

 

Luckily, she made the quick dashes early --

before the rain turned to sleet and SNOW!

Yes . . .

We had snow on May 1st!

 

 

And this is what we woke up to this morning!

 

Come back spring!!

We miss you already!

 

xoxo

And Then We Went to France!

France in Epcot, that is!!



See the Eiffel Tower!

Though a trip to Paris and London and Ireland and Dubrovnik

and . . . are all on my bucket list! :)

But, for now, France in Epcot will have to do!

 

 

 We LOVE getting a bite to eat at the Patisserie --

the quiche is

so yummy,

 the croissants melt in your mouth, and

who could resist an eclair or chocolate mousse for dessert? 

Tres magnifique!  Yum!

 

 

Isn't Princess Aurora so beautiful!

 

 

On the way home between flights with her 2 best friends!

 

This finally concludes my series on our Spring Break trip! 

We had a blast and someone is already planning the next one!

Yikes!

 

 

An Elephant and A Mouse

Sunrise at Mt. Everest in Animal Kingdom

 

 

Yes, we are finally nearing the end of the Spring Break/Disney series!

 

 

 

Although I do have a ton more of miscellaneous photos that I could share with you!

Another early start on our day to Animal Kingdom and it was another brrrr chilly morning!

Good morning Mr. Giraffe!

We got right on one of our favorite rides -- the Kilimanjaro Safari ride! 

Love that one and you can see the animals up so close.

 

Not wanting our tickets to the really scary high roller coaster (Expedition Everest) at Animal Kingdom to go to waste (I chickened out, oh yes I did),  we gave our fast passes to some people who otherwise would be waiting 60 or more minutes for the ride.

We did go on a river raft ride that I thought would be too chilly,

as you always get wet, but it turned out ok and Mr. Tennis took the brunt of the water on that one --  much appreciated! :)

King Louie is a big hugger!

I know it's kind of  silly, but watching Maddy with the characters

is really one of my favorite parts of the trip!

Soon, she might be too old to find that fun -- but not yet!!